2016 shooting of Almaty police officers

On July 18, 2016, 26-year-old Ruslan Kulikbayev shot and killed four police officers at a police station in Almaty, Kazakhstan and one local resident nearby after killing a woman the night before.^[5]

Background

The attack comes in the month after the 2016 Aktobe shootings where 25 people were killed.

At 3:52 am local time Ruslan Kulikbayev armed with a handgun commits his first murder by shooting an alleged prostitute in the taxicab, a citizen of Uzbekistan.^[6][7]

Attack

At around 11:00 am local time a man shot a policeman outside of a police station and stole his automatic weapon. Two more policemen in pursuit were then shot after the man tried to flee the scene. The suspect then hijacked a vehicle, shooting and killing its driver. A gun battle then broke out between the perpetrator and policemen. The man was then detained by police.^[8]

Two men were detained in the attack with one suspect being killed. A total of at least three policemen were killed along with the civilian driver. A second civilian was also killed at an unknown time.^[9]

Victims

Four police officers and one civilian were killed, and nine others were injured in the shooting. Also, one woman was killed by the culprit the night before.^[6]

The officers killed were identified as:

• Captain Bauyrzhan Nurmakhanbetov, 28, who had been serving in the Department of internal Affairs since 22 December 2011.^[10]
• Junior Sergeant Maksat Salimbaev, 24, who had been serving in the Department of internal Affairs since 15 November 2013.^[10]
• Starshina Ayan Galiev, 42, who had been serving in the Department of internal Affairs since 30 January 1997.^[10]
• Lieutenant Timur Begasilov, 29, who had been serving in the Department of internal Affairs since January. 2015. Died of wounds in hospital the next day.^[11]

Perpetrator

Ruslan Alpysbayuly Kulikbayev (Kazakh: Руслан Алпысбайұлы Күлікбаев) was born on 11 June 1990 in Baikonur and raised there.^[12][13] His parents had divorced when he was still a minor.^[14] He attended Yuri Gagarin Comprehensive Secondary School No. 8, leaving after the 9th grade with an incomplete secondary school certificate.^[13] In school days he was reportedly introverted and prone to violence under the influence of alcohol.^[14]

Kulikbayev had been convicted twice previously. The first time, a 3-year suspended imprisonment for robbery with violence imposed on him by the Enbekshi District Court of Shymkent on 27 August 2010.^[15][16] It was determined that he ambushed a jewelry saleswoman near her home in July 2010, beating her and taking away her purse with 115,000 tenge (≈US$5,500) and a mobile phone.^[17] The second time, the police seized a Nagant M1895 with ammunition and a suppressor from him, presumedly found by Kulikbayev near a local railway station of Taraz on 14 February 2012, that lead to his 3-year and 6-month prison sentence for illegal acquisition and possession of firearms enhanced by recidivism by the Kyzylorda Municipal Court on 8 May 2012.^[18] In prison, 14 penalties were imposed on him for disobedience and violation of orders and instructions provided by detention personnel.^[17] According to security officials, he maintained close relations with Salafists while being incarcerated.^[19]

His marriage to Ayaylym Umbetkulova, a native of Yntymak, Ile District began in the early 2010s and produced a son and a daughter.^[14][20] By the words of his wife, he turned from an exemplary family man to a deeply religious person after the release, and wanted her to wear hijab, but she refused.^[20]

In recent times, he resided in Yntymak, and worked odd jobs for a living, such as selling mobile phones.^[14]

Response

•  Chechnya: Head of the Chechen Republic, a federal subject of Russia, Ramzan Kadyrov offered on his Instagram page condolences to the brotherly people of Kazakhstan and President Nursultan Nazarbayev, and confirmed Chechnya's readiness to closely cooperate with Kazakhstan in fighting terrorism.^[21]
•  Iran: Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi strongly condemned the attack, and stated "Terror and violence in any form and anywhere are condemned and unacceptable".^[22]

Investigation

Following the investigation, the police found that the gunman had killed a woman the night before the attack.^[6]

The assailant planned to kill judges and prosecutors at the Almaly District Court to get revenge on law enforcement structures, as reported by Minister of Internal Affairs Kalmukhanbet Kassymov.^[23]

See also

• 2016 Aktobe shootings
• 2011 Aktobe bombing

References